Ranking a search result document based on data usage to load the search result document

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for ranking one or more documents that are responsive to a search query. A document that is responsive to the search query may be ranked based on a data measure of the document that is indicative of an amount of data usage required to load the document. In some implementations, the data measure of the document may be a measured value based on actual data usage during retrieval of the document. In some implementations, the ranking of two or more documents may be based on comparison of the data measures of the two or more documents.

BACKGROUND

Internet search engines provide information about Internet accessibledocuments such as web pages, images, text documents, and/or multimediacontent. A search engine may identify the documents in response to auser's search query that includes one or more search terms. The searchengine ranks the documents based on the relevance of the documents tothe query and the importance of the documents and provides searchresults that include aspects of and/or a link to the identifieddocuments.

SUMMARY

This specification is directed generally to ranking search resultdocuments, and, more particularly, to ranking a search result documentbased on data usage required to load the search result document. Forexample, a document that is responsive to a search query may be rankedbased on a data measure of the document that is indicative of an amountof data usage required to load the document. In some implementations,the data measure of the document may be a measured value based on actualdata usage during retrieval of the document. For example, the documentmay be a webpage that includes HTML code, and the measured value may bebased on actual data usage in retrieving such HTML code and inretrieving one or more aspects of content that is mapped in such HTMLcode and that would be retrieved by a browser or other application inretrieving the webpage and rendering the webpage for display to a user.Content that may be mapped in the HTML code may include, for example,images, sounds, additional code (e.g., ECMAScript implementations suchas JavaScript), and/or other content. In some implementations, theranking of two or more documents may be based on comparison of the datameasures of the two or more documents. For example, for a first documentand a second document that include similar content, the ranking of thefirst document and/or the second document may be based on comparison ofa data measure of the first document and a data measure of the seconddocument. For example, if the data measure of the first document isindicative of less data usage than the data measure of the seconddocument, the ranking of the first document may be positively impactedand/or the ranking of the second document may be negatively impacted. Insome implementations the ranking of a document may be based ondetermining an initial ranking of the document and modifying the initialranking based on a data measure of the document. For example, theinitial ranking of the document may be more positively influenced if afirst data measure is associated with the document that is indicative ofa first amount of data usage than it would be if a second data measureis associated with the document that is indicative of a second amount ofdata usage that is greater than the first amount of data usage.

In some implementations a computer implemented method may be providedthat includes the steps of: receiving a search query; identifying aplurality of documents that are responsive to the search query;determining a first data measure for a first document of one or more ofthe documents, wherein the first data measure of the first document isbased on an amount of data usage in a prior retrieval of the firstdocument; and ranking the first document relative to other of thedocuments based at least in part on the first data measure.

This method and other implementations of technology disclosed herein mayeach optionally include one or more of the following features.

The method may further include the steps of: determining that a seconddocument is similar to the first document; determining a second datameasure for the second document, the second data measure of the seconddocument indicative of an amount of data usage required to load thesecond document; and ranking the second document relative to other ofthe documents based at least in part on the second data measure. Rankingthe first document relative to the other of the documents may includeranking the first document relative to the second document based oncomparison of the first data measure to the second data measure. Rankingthe first document relative to the second document based on comparisonof the first data measure to the second data measure may include:determining the first data measure is indicative of less data usage thanthe second data measure; and ranking the first document more prominentlythan the second document when the first data measure is indicative ofless data usage than the second data measure.

The method may further include the step of determining that the searchquery is non-navigational. The determining the ranking for the firstdocument relative to other of the documents based at least in part onthe first data measure may occur only when the search query isdetermined to be non-navigational.

The step of ranking the first document relative to the other of thedocuments may include: determining an initial ranking of the firstdocument, the initial ranking being independent of the first datameasure; and modifying the initial ranking based on the first datameasure. The initial ranking of the first document may be an initialrelevance score of the first document. The first data measure may beproportional to the amount of data usage required to load the firstdocument, and modifying the initial ranking based on the first datameasure may be based on multiplying the initial relevance score by thereciprocal of the first data measure.

The method may further include the steps of: determining that the searchquery is non-navigational; and determining the weighting of the firstdata measure based on the search query being determined to benon-navigational.

The method may further include the steps of: receiving a second searchquery; determining that the second search query is navigational; andpreventing determination of rankings of documents responsive to thesecond search query that are based on data measures of the documents.

The method may further include the step of providing a search result fordisplay that is based on the first document and the ranking of the firstdocument.

The method may further include the step of determining that the searchquery is likely issued via a limited data plan. The determining theranking for the first document relative to other of the documents basedat least in part on the data measure may occur only when the searchquery is determined to be likely issued via a limited data plan.

The method may further include the step of determining a likelihood thatthe search query is issued via a limited data plan. The weighting of thefirst data measure in determining the ranking for the first documentrelative to other of the documents may be based on the likelihood thatthe search query is issued via a limited data plan.

Other implementations may include a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium storing instructions executable by a processor to performa method such as one or more of the methods described above. Yet anotherimplementation may include a system including memory and one or moreprocessors operable to execute instructions, stored in the memory, toperform a method such as one or more of the methods described above.

Particular implementations of the subject matter described hereindetermine a ranking of a document identified in response to a querybased on a data measure of the document and/or a data measure of one ormore additional documents identified in response to the query. Such aranking represents a new aspect of the document that may be based atleast on the data measure associated with the document. The ranking maybe utilized by one or more applications, such as a search system, toprovide a search result based on the document to users of theapplications.

It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing conceptsand additional concepts discussed in greater detail herein arecontemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosedherein. For example, all combinations of claimed subject matterappearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being partof the inventive subject matter disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment in which a search result maybe ranked based on data usage required to load the search resultdocument.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of ranking asearch result document based on data usage required to load the searchresult document.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of ranking a firstsearch result document and a second search result document based on datausage required to load the first search result document and data usagerequired to load the second search result document.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of associating adata measure with a document.

FIG. 5A is an example table utilized in describing an example method ofranking search result documents based on data usage required to load thesearch result documents.

FIG. 5B is another example table utilized in describing the examplemethod of ranking search result documents based on data usage requiredto load the search result documents.

FIG. 6A is an example table utilized in describing an additional examplemethod of ranking search result documents based on data usage requiredto load the search result documents.

FIG. 6B is another example table utilized in describing the additionalexample method of ranking search result documents based on data usagerequired to load the search result documents.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example architecture of a computer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment in which a search result maybe ranked based on data usage required to load the search resultdocument. The example environment includes client device 106 and asearch system 102. The search system 102 can be implemented in one ormore computers that communicate, for example, through a network. Thesearch system 102 is an example of an information retrieval system inwhich the systems, components, and techniques described herein may beimplemented and/or with which systems, components, and techniquesdescribed herein may interface.

A user may interact with the search system 102 via the client device106. The search system 102 receives search queries 104 from the clientdevice 106 and returns search results 108 in response to the searchqueries 104. Each search query 104 is a request for information. Thesearch query 104 can be, for example, in a text form and/or in otherforms such as, for example, audio form and/or image form. Other computerdevices may submit search queries to the search system 102 such asadditional client devices and/or one or more servers implementing aservice for a website that has partnered with the provider of the searchsystem 102. For brevity, however, the examples are described in thecontext of the client device 106.

The client device 106 may be a computer coupled to the search system 102through a network such as a local area network (LAN) or wide areanetwork (WAN) such as the Internet. The client device 106 may be, forexample, a desktop computing device, a laptop computing device, a mobilephone computing device, a tablet computing device, a computing device ofa vehicle of the user (e.g., an in-vehicle communications system, anin-vehicle entertainment system, an in-vehicle navigation system), or awearable apparatus of the user that includes a computing device (e.g., awatch of the user having a computing device, glasses of the user havinga computing device). Additional and/or alternative client devices may beprovided. The client device 106 typically includes one or moreapplications to facilitate submission of queries and the sending andreceiving of data over a network. The client device 106 and the searchsystem 102 each include memory for storage of data and softwareapplications, a processor for accessing data and executing applications,and components that facilitate communication over a network. Theoperations performed by the client device 106 and/or the search system102 may be distributed across multiple computer systems. The searchsystem 102 may be implemented as, for example, computer programs runningon one or more computers in one or more locations that are coupled toeach other through a network.

The search system 102 includes an indexing engine 120 and a rankingengine 110. The indexing engine 120 maintains an index 125 for use bythe search system 102. The indexing engine 120 processes documents andupdates index entries in the index 125, for example, using conventionaland/or other indexing techniques. For example, the indexing engine 120may crawl one or more resources such as the World Wide Web and indexdocuments accessed via such crawling. Also, for example, the indexingengine 120 may receive information related to one or documents from oneor more resources such as web masters controlling such documents andindex the documents based on such information.

A document is any data that is associated with a document address.Documents include web pages, word processing documents, portabledocument format (PDF) documents, images, videos, and feed sources, toname just a few. Each document may include content such as, for example:text, images, videos, sounds, embedded information (e.g., metainformation and/or hyperlinks); and/or embedded instructions (e.g.,ECMAScript implementations such as JavaScript). For example, a webpageproviding a news story for reading by a user may be retrieved by abrowser in a markup language that enables the browser to displaymultiple types of content to a user as indicated by the markup language.For example, the retrieved markup language may itself include text ofthe news story and such text may be rendered by the browser indisplaying the webpage. Also, for example, the retrieved markup languagemay include mappings to image content such as an image related to thenews story and such an image may be retrieved by the browser based onthe mapping and rendered by the browser in displaying the webpage. Also,for example, the retrieved markup language may itself include embeddedcontent such as meta information and/or hyperlinks and such embeddedcontent may be utilized in determining how to render other content onthe webpage. Also, for example, the retrieved markup language mayinclude mappings to instructions such as javascript utilized in one ormore advertisements of the webpage and such instructions may beretrieved and executed by the browser based on the mapping and theadvertisements rendered by the browser in displaying the webpage basedon such instructions.

In some implementations, some of the index entries in the index 125 mayassociate one or more documents with respective data measures indicativeof an amount of data usage required to load the respective documents.For example, a given index entry may associate an identifier of a givendocument with a data measure of the given document that is indicative ofan amount of data usage required to load the document. Generallyspeaking, as used herein, to load a document means to retrieve the dataassociated with the document that is needed to render the document forpresentation to a user. For example, for an HMTL webpage, loading thewebpage may include retrieving the data necessary to display the webpageto a user from one or more servers hosting the webpage. The datanecessary to display the webpage may include data such as the HTML codeand one or more aspects of content that is mapped in such HTML code.Thus, the data usage to load the HTML webpage may be the data usage inretrieving the HTML code and the one or more aspects of content mappedin the HTML code. Additional information may optionally be associatedwith the document in the given index entry such as keywords, documenttype, etc. Various forms of a data measure indicative of an amount ofdata usage required to load the document may be utilized. For example,in some implementations the data measure may be an actual or estimatednumber of bits required to load the document. For example, the datameasure may be provided in bytes, kilobytes (kB), megabytes (MB), and soforth. In some implementations the data measure may be a valueindicative of an actual and/or estimated range of bits required to loadthe document. For example, data measures may be a number between zeroand one, with 0.01 indicative of an amount of data usage less than 10kB, 0.02 indicative of an amount of data usage from 10 kB to 20 kB, andso forth. Additional and/or alternative forms of data measures may beutilized including, for example, those that are not numeric in nature(e.g., “A” indicative of less than 10 kB required).

In this specification, the term “database” and “index” will be usedbroadly to refer to any collection of data. The data of the databaseand/or the index does not need to be structured in any particular wayand it can be stored on storage devices in one or more geographiclocations. Thus, for example, the index 125 may include multiplecollections of data, each of which may be organized and accesseddifferently. For example, a first collection of index entries may beutilized to identify documents responsive to the search query 104 and asecond collection of index entries may be utilized to identifyadditional information related to responsive documents such as, forexample, a data measure of a responsive document.

In some implementations a document data usage module 122 of the indexingengine 120 may determine, for each of a plurality of documents, a datameasure indicative of an amount of data usage of the document. Forexample, the data usage module 122 may access the document, determine anamount of data usage required to load at least a portion of thedocument, and associate an identifier of the document with a datameasure indicative of the amount of data usage. In some implementationsthe data measure, and the association between the data measure and theidentification of the document, may be stored in a database such asindex 125. In some implementations, the determination of an amount ofdata usage for a document may occur during processing of the documentand indexing of other aspects of the document such as metadata,keywords, etc. For example, the indexing engine 120 may crawl one ormore resources such as the World Wide Web and index documents accessedvia such crawling. In accessing a document, all or aspects of contentthe document may be retrieved by the data usage module 122 and adetermination made as to an amount of data usage required to load thedocument based on such retrieved aspects. In some implementations thedetermination of an amount of data usage for a document may occurindependently of indexing of other aspects of the document such asmetadata, keywords, etc. In some implementations the document data usagemodule 122 may be provided as a component that is separate from theindexing engine 120. In some implementations the data usage module 122may perform aspects of one or more of the steps of FIG. 4, such as oneor more of steps 400, 405, 410, and 415.

In some implementations, the data usage module 122 may determine thedata measure of a document based on meta information of the document.For example, the meta information of a document may contain informationrelated to the size of the document and the data usage module 122 mayutilize such meta information to determine the data measure. In someimplementations the data usage module 122 may access information relatedto one or documents that is received from one or more resources such asweb masters controlling such documents and determine an amount of datausage based on such information.

In some implementations the data measure of a document may be a measuredvalue based on actual data usage during retrieval of the document. Thedata usage module 122 may determine the data usage by measuring anamount of data usage during retrieval of the document. For example, thedocument may be a webpage that includes HTML code, and the measuredvalue may be based on actual data usage in retrieving such HTML code andin retrieving one or more aspects of content that is mapped in such HTMLcode and that would be retrieved by a browser or other application inretrieving the webpage and rendering the webpage for display to a user.Content that may be mapped in the HTML code may include, for example,images, sounds, additional code (e.g., ECMAScript implementations suchas JavaScript), and/or other content. In some implementations thecontent of a document that is retrieved and/or utilized by the datausage module 122 to determine an amount of data usage may include allcontent necessary to initially fully render the document. For example,for a webpage, the content may include the entirety of the source codeof the webpage such as HTML and/or XML source code and any images,video, music, and/or other media rendered upon initial retrieval thewebpage. In some implementations, the content of a document that isretrieved and/or utilized by the data usage module 122 to determine anamount of data usage may include content necessary to recreate only aportion of the document. For example, the content of a webpage that isretrieved and/or utilized by the data usage module 122 may exclude text,but include other content such as images, sound, video, embeddedinstructions, advertisements, etc.

In some implementations, the data usage module 122 may determine thedata value of a document based only on a most recently accessed versionof the document. In other implementations, the data value of a documentmay be based on multiple versions of the document. For example, adocument that includes changing content may be retrieved multiple timesand an amount of data usage determined that is based on an average orother measure of data usage in the multiple retrievals of the document.For example, for a webpage that includes one or more dynamicadvertisements, the data usage required to load the webpage may varybased on which particular advertisement is being provided. A data valuefor such a webpage may be determined that optionally reflects an averageof multiple retrievals of the document. Also, for example, for a webpagethat includes changing content such as the first page of a frequentlyupdated blog, the data usage required to load the webpage may varydepending on the current entries on the first page of the blog. A datavalue for such a webpage may be determined that optionally reflects anaverage of multiple retrievals of the document. For example, the datavalue of a document may be based on an average data usage for the last Xretrievals of the document.

In some implementations, the content of a document that is retrievedand/or utilized by the data usage module 122 to determine an amount ofdata usage may be capped if a threshold amount of data usage isdetermined. For example, a threshold amount of data usage may be 1 MBand data usage module 122 may retrieve content from a document until 1MB has been retrieved and then set a data value that is indicative ofequal to or greater than 1 MB of data usage required to load thedocument. Additional and/or alternative thresholds may be utilized.

The ranking engine 110 uses the index 125 to identify documentsresponsive to the search query 104, for example, using conventionaland/or other information retrieval techniques. The ranking engine 110calculates scores for the documents identified as responsive to thesearch query 104, for example, using one or more ranking signals. Eachranking signal provides information about the document itself and/or therelationship between the document and the search query 104.

In some implementations, one example ranking signal of a document may bethe data measure indicative of the amount of data usage required to loadthe document. Generally speaking, in implementations in which a datameasure is utilized as a ranking signal, the score of a document may bemore positively influenced by a first data measure that is indicative ofa first amount of data usage than it would be by a second data measurethat is indicative of a second amount of data usage that is greater thanthe first amount of data usage.

In some implementations in which a data measure is utilized as a rankingsignal, the data measure may be utilized as a ranking signal for alldocuments responsive to the search query 104. In some implementations,the data measure may be utilized as a ranking signal for only a subsetof the documents responsive to the search query 104, such as the X topranked documents based on other ranking signals independent of the datameasure, only documents determined to be similar to one or more otherdocuments, and/or only documents having a popularity measure (e.g.,based on a selection rate or other measure of the document for thequery) that is less than a threshold. Only utilizing the data measure asa ranking signal for documents having a popularity measure that is lessthan a threshold may prevent very popular documents that are responsiveto a query from being demoted based on the data measure.

With reference to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, an example method of rankingsearch result documents based on utilizing a data measure as a rankingsignal will be described. FIG. 5A illustrates a table listing documentsD1-D10 in the first column and scores associated with each of thedocuments D1-D10 in the second column. For example, document D1 has ascore of 0.65; document D2 has a score of 0.6, and so forth. The scoresin FIG. 5A are determined based on ranking signals that are independentof data measures of the documents. A numerical ranking of each of thedocuments D1-D10 is illustrated in the third column and is based on thescore of the second column, with higher scores corresponding to a higherranking. In alternative implementations lower scores may correspond to ahigher ranking. The rankings of FIG. 5A are determined independent ofdata measures of the documents. An indication of the contents of each ofthe documents D1-D10 is provided in the fourth column. For example,document D1 has contents A; document D2 has contents A′; document D3 hascontents B; and so forth. The contents A of document D1, A′ of documentD2, and A″ of document D7 indicate contents that are similar to oneanother. For example, documents D1, D2, and D3 may be webpages eachhosting the same Associated Press news story, but each containing othercontent that is unique such as unique hyperlinks, menus, banners, ads,etc. The data usage in kB is illustrated in the fifth column. Forexample, document D1 has an associated data usage of 100 kB, document D2has an associated data usage of 80 kB, and so forth. In the examplemethod, the data usage of the fifth column is utilized as the datameasure. As discussed herein, in some implementations one or more of thedata usages of the fifth column may be a measured value based on actualdata usage during retrieval of the document.

FIG. 5B illustrates a table that lists the same documents D1-D10 in thefirst column as FIG. 5A, lists the same contents in the fourth column asFIG. 5A, and lists the same data usages in the fifth column as FIG. 5A.However, the scores associated with each of the documents D1-D10 in thesecond column of FIG. 5B have been modified relative to those of FIG. 5Abased on the data usages of the fifth column. Also, the rankingsassociated with the documents D1-D10 in the third column of FIG. 5B havebeen modified relative to those of FIG. 5A based on the modified scoresof the second column. The scores of the second column of FIG. 5B havebeen modified relative to the scores of FIG. 5A by multiplying, for eachof the documents D1-D10, a respective score by the by the inverse of thesquare root of a respective data usage. This is represented by thefollowing equation:score of DX in FIG. 5B=score of DX in FIG. 5A*(1/√/(Data Usage of DX)),wherein DX is representative of the given document for which the scoresof FIG. 5B is being determined (D1, D2, . . . D10).

The numerical ranking in FIG. 5B of each of the documents D1-D10 isillustrated in the third column and is based on the score of the secondcolumn, with higher scores corresponding to a higher ranking. It isnoted that based on the scores of FIG. 5B, the rankings associated withdocuments D1, D2, D7, and D9 have been altered. In particular, therankings of documents D2 and D9 have been promoted, whereas the rankingsof documents D1 and D7 have been demoted.

Although a particular technique is described with respect to FIGS. 5Aand 5B, additional and/or alternative techniques may be utilized todetermine a score for a document based on the data measure. For example,in some implementations each data measure may be a value between 0 and1, with higher values corresponding to less data usage than lowervalues. In some of those implementations the scores of FIG. 5B may bedetermined by multiplying the scores of FIG. 5A by the data measures.Also, for example, in some implementations each data measure may be avalue between 0 and 1, with lower values corresponding to less datausage than higher values. In some of those implementations the scores ofFIG. 5B may be determined by multiplying the scores of FIG. 5A by theinverse of the data measures. Also, for example, in some implementationseach data measure may be a value between 1 and 1.2, with higher valuescorresponding to less data usage than lower values. In some of thoseimplementations the scores of FIG. 5B may be determined by multiplyingthe scores of FIG. 5A by the data measures only if the data measures areabove X value, such as 1.1—thereby applying a boost to certain scoreswhile maintaining certain other scores. Also, for example, in someimplementations a score that is independent of the data measure may notbe initially determined, but, instead, an initially determined score maytake the data measure into account. For example, in some implementationseach score may be a value between 0 and 1 and each data measure may be avalue between 0 and 0.1, with higher values corresponding to less datausage than lower values. Other ranking signals may likewise be valueswithin a range and may be summed with the data measures.

Additional and/or alternative ranking signals can also be used. Forexample, additional and/or alternative ranking signals includeinformation about the query itself such as, for example, the terms ofthe query, an identifier of the user who submitted the query, and/or acategorization of the user who submitted the query (e.g., the geographiclocation from where the query was submitted, the language of the userwho submitted the query, interests of the user who submitted the query,and/or a type of the client device 106 used to submit the query (e.g.,mobile device, laptop, desktop)). The identification of the user can be,for example, a user name or the IP address of the client device 106. Thegeographic location from where the query was submitted can be, forexample, a continent, a country, a state, a city, or geographiccoordinates, such as latitude and longitude.

Also, for example, additional and/or alternative ranking signals includeinformation about the terms of the query such as, for example, thelocations where a query term appears in the title, body, and text ofanchors in a document, where a query term appears in anchors pointing tothe search result, how a term is used in the document (e.g., in thetitle of the document, in the body of the document, or in a link in thedocument), the term frequency (i.e., the number of times the termappears in a corpus of documents in the same language as the querydivided by the total number of terms in the corpus), and/or the documentfrequency (i.e., the number of documents in a corpus of documents thatcontain the query term divided by the total number of documents in thecorpus).

Also, for example, additional and/or alternative ranking signals includeother information about the document such as, for example, a measure ofthe quality of the document, a measure of the popularity of thedocument, the URL of the document, the geographic location where thedocument is hosted, when the search system 102 first added the documentto the index 125, the language of the document, the length of the titleof the document, and/or the length of the text of source anchors forlinks pointing to the document.

The ranking engine 110 then ranks the responsive documents using thescores. For example, the responsive documents are ranked based on thescores. In some implementations one or more of the responsive documentsmay be initially ranked based on scores that are determined based onranking signals that are independent of data measures of the documents.The initial ranking of one or more of the responsive documents may thenbe further modified based on data measures of the one or more responsivedocuments. For example, a ranking of a responsive document may bepromoted relative to other documents based on the data measure of theresponsive document and/or based on the data measure of one or moreother responsive documents. For example, a ranking of a responsivedocument may be promoted X positions relative to other documents if thedata measure of the responsive document satisfies a threshold and/or ifthe data measure of the documents over which it is being promoted failsto satisfy a threshold. Also, for example, a ranking of a responsivedocument may be promoted X positions relative to other documents if thedata measure of the responsive document satisfies a threshold and/or ifthe score of the documents over which it is being promoted fails tosatisfy a threshold. Also, for example, a ranking of a responsivedocument may be demoted relative to other documents based on the datameasure of the responsive document and/or based on the data measure ofone or more other responsive documents. Additional and/or alternativetechniques may be utilized to modify the ranking of one or more of theresponsive documents based on the data measure. For example, techniquesdescribed herein with respect to FIGS. 6A and 6B may be utilized.

The search system 102 uses the responsive documents ranked by theranking engine 110 to generate search results 108. The search results108 include search results corresponding to the documents responsive thesearch query 104. For example, search results 108 can include titles ofeach of the documents, links to each of the documents, and/or a summaryof content from each of the documents that is responsive to the searchquery 104. For example, the summary of content may include a particular“snippet” or section of one or more documents that is responsive to thesearch query 104. Other examples of search results 108 include a summaryof information responsive to the search query 104 and/or an answerresponsive to the search query 104. The summary can be generated fromdocuments responsive to the search query 104 and/or from other sources.The search results 108 are transmitted to the client device 106 in aform that may be provided to the user. For example, the search results108 may be transmitted as a search results web page to be displayed on abrowser running on the client device and/or as one or more searchresults conveyed to a user via audio. The search results 108 may beprovided to the user based on the ranking of the corresponding searchresult documents. For example, when the search results are presented asa search results web page, the search results may be displayed based onthe ranking of the corresponding search result documents. For example,the most prominently displayed search result may be the highest rankedsearch result, the next most prominently displayed search result may bethe second highest ranked search result, and so forth.

The ranking engine 110 includes a query analysis module 112 and/or adocument similarity module 114. In some implementations the queryanalysis module 112 and/or the document similarity module 114 may beprovided as modules separate from the ranking engine 110. In someimplementations one or both of the query analysis module 112 and/or thedocument similarity module 114 may be omitted. In some implementationsthe query analysis module 112 may perform aspects of one or more of thesteps of FIGS. 2 and 3 such as step 200 and step 300. In someimplementations the document similarity module 114 may perform aspectsof one or more of the steps of FIG. 3 such as step 310.

The query analysis module 112 may determine if a submitted query fromclient device 106 is a navigational query and/or is a non-navigationalquery. Generally speaking, a navigational query is a search query thatindicates an intention of finding a particular website or a particularwebpage. For example, a search query of “youtube” is a navigationalquery because it indicates an intention of finding the YouTube website.On the other hand, a search query such as “information about greenlollipops” is likely not a navigational query because it does notindicate an intention of finding a particular website and/or webpage. Insome implementations the ranking of one or more search result documentsresponsive to a query may be based at least in part on a data measureonly when the search query is determined to be non-navigational. In someimplementations the degree of impact the data measure has on the rankingof one or more search result documents responsive to a query may bedependent on whether the query is navigational or non-navigational. Forexample, for a search query that is determined to be navigational, theweighting of data measures of one or more documents in determining aranking for the one or more documents may be a first weighting that isless than a second weighting of data measures utilized for a searchquery that is determined to be non-navigational. In some implementationsthe degree of impact the data measure has on the ranking of one or moresearch result documents responsive to a search query may be dependent onthe degree of confidence that the search query is navigational and/ornon-navigational. For example, for a search query that is determinedwith a high degree of confidence to be navigational, the weighting ofdata measures of one or more documents in determining a ranking for theone or more documents may be a first weighting that is less than asecond weighting of data measures utilized for a search query that isdetermined with a lesser degree of confidence to be navigational.

In some implementations the query analysis module 112 may determine if asubmitted search query from client device 106 is a navigational queryand/or is a non-navigational query via a query index and/or otherdatabase that contains information related to queries. For example, fora received search query, the query analysis module 112 may reference aquery index that contains information related to whether the searchquery is a navigational query. In some implementations the database mayinclude, for each of one or more search queries, an indication of thedegree of confidence that the search query is navigational and/or thatthe search query is non-navigational. In some implementations theinformation related to whether the search query is a navigational querymay be based on one or more signals such as, for example, a selectionrate of one or more of the search result documents that are responsiveto the search query. For example, if one or more of the search resultdocuments responsive to the search query has a selection rate thatsatisfies a threshold, it may be determined to be a navigational query.For example, a search query of “youtube” may have a selection rate for“www.youtube.com” that satisfies a threshold. For example, the thresholdmay be 30%, 60%, 80%, and/or other determined or selected threshold.Also, for example, if none of the search result documents responsive tothe search query have a selection rate that satisfies a threshold, itmay be determined to be a non-navigational query. The informationrelated to whether the search query is a navigational query may be basedon additional and/or alternative signals such as, the uniform resourcelocator (URL) of one or more of the responsive documents, the term(s) ofthe search query, and/or durations of visits to one or more responsivedocuments after selection of such documents.

In some implementations the query analysis module 112 and/or othercomponent may determine if a submitted search query from client device106 is a navigational query and/or is a non-navigational query viadirectly determining if the selection rate of one or more of the searchresult documents that are responsive to the search query satisfies athreshold and/or if one or more additional and/or alternative signalssatisfies a threshold. For example, a ranking signal utilized by rankingengine 110 for a document responsive to a search query may include aranking signal based on a selection rate of the document for the searchquery. The ranking signal based on a selection rate of the document forthe search query may be utilized to determine if the search query isnavigational or non-navigational. For example, if the selection rate ofthe top search result document for a search query satisfies a threshold,the search query may be determined to be a navigational query.

The query analysis module 112 may additionally and/or alternativelydetermine if a submitted query from client device 106 is likely issuedvia a limited data plan. In some implementations the ranking of one ormore search result documents responsive to a query may be based at leastin part on a data measure only when the search query is determined to belikely issued via a limited data plan. In some implementations thedegree of impact the data measure has on the ranking of one or moresearch result documents responsive to a query may be dependent onwhether the query is likely issued via a limited data plan. For example,for a search query that is determined to be likely issued via a limiteddata plan, the weighting of data measures of one or more documents indetermining a ranking for the one or more documents may be a firstweighting that is greater than a second weighting of data measuresutilized for a search query that is determined to not likely be issuedvia a limited data plan. In some implementations, the degree of impactthe data measure has on the ranking of one or more search resultdocuments responsive to a search query may be dependent on the degree ofconfidence that the search query is likely issued via a limited dataplan.

The query analysis module 112 may utilize one or more techniques indetermining if a search query is likely issued via a limited data plan.For example, data submitted with and/or included with a search querysuch as an IP address of the computing device issuing the query, a MACaddress of the computing device, a cookie, and so forth may be utilizedto determine if the search query is likely issued via a limited dataplan.

The document similarity module 114 may determine if one or more searchresult documents responsive to a search query contain similar subjectmatter. In some implementations the ranking of only one or more searchresult documents responsive to a query that are determined to be similarmay be based at least in part on a data measure. For example, in someimplementations a ranking of a first document may only be influenced bythe data measure of the first document when it is determined that asecond document contains similar content as the first document. In someimplementations, the degree of impact the data measure has on theranking of a search result document responsive to a query may bedependent on whether the search result document contains similar contentas one or more other search result documents. For example, for a firstsearch result document that is determined to contain similar content asa second search result document, the weighting of the data measure ofthe first document in determining a ranking for the first document maybe a first weighting that is greater than a second weighting of a datameasure utilized for a third search result document that does notcontain similar content as another search result document. In someimplementations, the degree of impact the data measure has on theranking of a search result document responsive to a search query may bedependent on the degree of similarity between the search result documentand one or more other search result documents. For example, for a firstsearch result document that is determined to have a first degree ofsimilarity with a second search result document, the weighting of a datameasure of the first search result document in determining a ranking forthe first search result document may be a first weighting that isgreater than a second weighting of the data measure if the degree ofsimilarity was a second degree of similarity less indicative ofsimilarity that the first degree of similarity.

In some implementations, the document similarity module 114 maydetermine whether two or more documents contain similar content based ondetermining a similarity between all content of each of the documents.In some implementations the document similarity module 114 may determinewhether two or more documents contain similar content based ondetermining a similarity between a subset of content of each of thedocuments. The subset of content of a document may include, for example,meta information of the document; a segment of the document such asindexed content of the document, the first 100 Kilobytes of the content,a randomly selected percentage of the content, all or portions of textof the document, and/or all or portions of images of the document;and/or other selection of content that is less than the full amount ofthe document. For example, a randomly selected percentage of the contentof the document may be selected as the subset of content. Also, forexample, only content that is rendered as text in displaying thedocument may be selected as the subset of content. Also, for example,all content may be included except content that is identified as anadvertisement. Also, for example, content that is determined to bebeyond a threshold size, such as a large video, may be excluded and/orless of the content may be utilized. For example, for a large video onlya segment of the video may be utilized and/or only metadata of the videomay be utilized. The document similarity module 114 may determine, basedon the content of two or more documents, one or more measures ofsimilarity and/or dissimilarity to determine if a similarity thresholdbetween the documents is satisfied.

The techniques for determining similarity between documents may varyfrom implementation to implementation. For example: a Levenshtein editdistance between the contents of two or more documents may be utilized;a Jaro-Winkler edit distance between the between the contents of two ormore documents may be utilized; a Jaccard index may be utilized; a Masidistance may be utilized; and/or character counts between the contentsof two or more documents may be utilized. In some implementations cosinesimilarity may be determined between the contents of two or moredocuments. For example, keywords and/or other content associated withentries in index 125 of two or more documents may be compared to oneanother to determine similarity between the two or more documents. Forexample, a cosine similarity between keywords of a first document thatare indexed with the document in index 125 and keywords of a seconddocument that are indexed with the second document in index 125 may bedetermined and utilized to determine the similarity between thedocuments.

Other techniques for determining similarity may be utilized. Forexample, in some implementations a comparison of entities associatedwith two or more documents may be utilized to determine similaritybetween the documents. For example, if a first document is onlyassociated with entities A, B, C, and D and a second document is onlyassociated with entities A, B, C, D, and E, they may be determined tosatisfy a similarity threshold. On the other hand, if a first documentis only associated with entities A, B, C, and D and a second document isonly associated with entities D and E, they may be determined to notsatisfy the similarity threshold. Entities that are associated with adocument may be determined, for example, based on a document to entitymapping that maps the document with one or more entities to which thedocument pertains. In some implementations entities associated with adocument may be determined based on frequent and/or prominent mention ofone or more alias and/or other properties of the entities in thedocument.

With reference to FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, an example method of rankingsearch result documents that are determined to be similar based onutilizing a data measure is described. FIG. 6A illustrates a tablelisting documents D1-D10 in the first column and rankings associatedwith each of the documents D1-D10 in the second column. For example,document D1 has a highest ranking of “1”; document D2 has the nexthighest ranking of “2”, and so forth. The rankings in FIG. 6A may bedetermined based on ranking signals that are independent of datameasures of the documents. An indication of the contents of each of thedocuments D1-D10 is provided in the third column. For example, documentD1 has contents A; document D2 has contents A′; document D3 has contentsB; and so forth. The contents A of document D1, A′ of document D2, andA″ of document D7 indicate contents that are similar to one another. Forexample, D1, D2, and D3 may be webpages each hosting the same AssociatedPress news story, but each containing other content that is unique suchas unique hyperlinks, menus, banners, ads, etc. In some implementationsthe document similarity module 114 may determine documents D1, D2, andD7 contain similar contents utilizing one or more techniques such asthose discussed herein. The data usage in kB is illustrated in thefourth column. For example, document D1 has an associated data usage of100 kB, document D2 has an associated data usage of 80 kB, and so forth.In the example method, the data usage of the fourth column is utilizedas the data measure. As discussed herein, in some implementations one ormore of the data usages of the fourth column may be a measured valuebased on actual data usage during retrieval of the document.

FIG. 6B illustrates a table that lists the same documents D1-D10 in thefirst column as FIG. 6A, lists the same contents in the third column asFIG. 6A, and lists the same data usages in the fourth column as FIG. 6A.However, the rankings associated with the documents D1-D10 in the secondcolumn of FIG. 6B have been modified relative to those of FIG. 6A basedon utilizing a data measure to modify the ranking of two of the searchresult documents, D1 and D2, that are determined to be similar. In theexample of FIG. 6B, the ranking of document D1 has been promoted and theranking of D2 has been demoted based on comparison of the data measuresof D1 and D2. Document D1 has a data measure of 100 kB, while documentD2 has a data measure of only 80 kB. Since document D2 has a datameasure indicative of less data usage required to load the document thanD1, it may be promoted to a more prominent ranking than document D1. Themore prominent ranking of document D2 may result in an increasedlikelihood that users will select document D2, thus resulting in lessdata usage by the user in retrieving document D2 as compared toretrieving document D1. Document D7 also contains content that isdetermined to be similar to the content of documents D1 and D2. However,the data measure of document D7 (200 kB) is indicative of more datausage to load the document than the data measure of document D1 (100 kB)and of document D2 (80 kB). Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 6B, theranking of document D7 has not been adjusted. In the example of FIG. 6B,the ranking of the other documents D3-D6 and D8-D10 have not beenadjusted since those documents do not include content that is similar tothe content of any other documents.

Although a particular technique is described with respect to FIGS. 6Aand 6B, additional and/or alternative techniques may be utilized to ranksearch result documents that are determined to be similar based onutilizing a data measure. For example, various techniques may beutilized for promoting and/or demoting one or more documents that aredetermined to have similar contents relative to one another. Forexample, assume an example where: two documents D1 and D2 have similarcontents; document D2 has a data measure less indicative of data usagethan the data measure of document D1; and document D1 has an initialranking of “2” and document D2 has an initial ranking of “5”. In someimplementations the rankings of D1 and D2 may be switched (D1=5, D2=2)based on comparing the data measures. In some other implementations theranking of D1 may be demoted X positions and the ranking of D2 may bepromoted X positions based on comparison of the data measures. Forexample, the ranking of D1 may be demoted 6 positions to a ranking of“7” and the ranking of D2 may be promoted 2 positions to a ranking of“3”. In some implementations the degree of promotion and/or demotion maybe based on the difference between the data measures of documents D1 andD2 and/or the difference between raking scores of documents D1 and D2that are independent of data measures.

As another example, assume: two documents D1 and D2 have similarcontents and document D1 has an initial ranking that is more prominentthan the ranking of document D2. In some implementations the ranking ofdocuments D1 and D2 may be switched if the following conditions are met:document D2 has a data measure less indicative of data usage than thedata measure of document D1 and the difference in the initial rankingbetween document D1 and document D2 is less than a threshold. Forexample, in some implementations the rankings of documents D1 and D2 maybe switched if the difference in an initial ranking between thedocuments is less than or equal to 10 positions, but not if thedifference in the initial ranking between the documents is greater than10 positions. Also, for example, in some implementations the rankings ofdocuments D1 and D2 may be switched if the difference in an initialranking score between the documents is less than or equal to 0.1, butnot if the difference initial ranking between the documents is greaterthan 0.1.

Also, although adjusting an existing ranking of documents that aredetermined to be similar based on utilizing a data measure isillustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, in some implementations the data measuremay be utilized as a ranking signal in determining an initial ranking oftwo or more documents determined to be similar. For example, in someimplementations a score that is independent of the data measure may bedetermined for all documents, and for those documents that have similarcontent to one or more other documents, a data measure may be utilizedto modify the score. For example, the data measures may be a valuebetween 0.8 and 1.2, with lower values corresponding to more data usagethan higher values—thereby applying a boost to certain scores of suchdocuments while demoting certain other scores of such documents. Also,for example, in some implementations a score that is independent of thedata measure may not be initially determined, but, instead, an initiallydetermined score may take the data measure into account for thosedocuments that have similar content to one or more other documents.Also, for example, in some implementations, a data measure may beutilized as a ranking signal in determining an initial ranking of two ormore documents determined to be similar and documents not determined tobe similar, but the weighting of the data measure may be greater forthose documents determined to be similar.

Many other configurations are possible having more or fewer componentsthan the environment shown in FIG. 1. For example, in some environmentsthe query analysis module 112 and/or the document similarity module 114may be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of ranking asearch result document based on data usage required to load the searchresult document. Other implementations may perform the steps in adifferent order, omit certain steps, and/or perform different and/oradditional steps than those illustrated in FIG. 2. For convenience,aspects of FIG. 2 will be described with reference to a system of one ormore computers that perform the process. The system may include, forexample, the ranking engine 110 of FIG. 1.

At step 200, a search query is received. In some implementations thesearch system 102 may receive the search query from a computing devicesuch as client device 106. In some implementations, it may be determinedif the received search query is a navigational query and/or is anon-navigational query. In some implementations it may be determined ifthe search query is likely issued via a limited data plan. In someimplementations, the query analysis module 112 may determine whether thesearch query is navigational, non-navigational, and/or issued via alimited data plan.

At step 205, documents are identified based on the search query receivedat step 200. For example, in some implementations the ranking engine 110may use the index 125 to identify documents responsive to the query.

At step 210, a data measure is determined for at least a first documentof the documents identified at step 205. For example, in someimplementations the ranking engine 110 may use the index 125 and/orother database to determine a data measure for the first document. Thedata measure of the first document is indicative of the amount of datausage required to load the document. In some implementations the datameasure may be a measured value based on actual data usage duringretrieval of the first document. In some implementations data measuresmay also be determined for additional documents such as all documentsidentified at step 205, the top X documents identified at step 205 basedon other ranking signals, those documents identified at step 205 havingsimilar content as the first document, and so forth. In someimplementations, step 210 may only occur if the search query isdetermined to be non-navigational and/or issued via a limited data plan.

At step 215, the first document is ranked based at least in part on thedata measure determined at step 210. Generally speaking, the ranking ofthe document may be more positively influenced by a first data measurethat is indicative of a first amount of data usage than it would be by asecond data measure that is indicactive of a second amount of data usagethat is greater than the first amount of data usage. In someimplementations, the data measure may be utilized as one of multipleranking signals to determine a relevance score for the first document.For example, the data measure may be utilized to determine an initialscore for the document and/or to modify an initial score for thedocument. Also, for example, the data measure may be utilized to promoteand/or demote, based on the data measure, an initially determinedranking of the first document.

In some implementations rankings for additional documents that are basedon their respective data measures may also be determined such as alldocuments identified at step 205, the top X documents identified at step205 based on other ranking signals, those documents identified at step205 having similar content as the first document, and so forth. In someimplementations, step 215 may only occur if the search query isdetermined to be non-navigational and/or issued via a limited data plan.In some implementations, the weighting of the data measure indetermining a ranking for the first document in step 215 may bedependent on whether and/or the likelihood that the search query isdetermined to be non-navigational and/or issued via a limited data plan.

In some implementations the ranking engine 110 may transmit thedetermined ranking based on the data measure for the first documentand/or other documents for storage in a database such as contentdatabase 115. In some implementations stored data may optionally beassociated with a corresponding query in the database for futureretrieval in response to a future search request for the query. In someimplementations the ranking engine 110 may transmit the determinedranking based on the data measure for a real time query. For example,the search system 102 may use the responsive documents ranked by theranking engine 110 to generate search results 108 that are transmittedto the client device 106 in a form that may be provided to the user. Thesearch results 108 may be provided to the user based on the ranking ofthe corresponding search result documents.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of ranking a firstsearch result document and a second search result document based on datausage required to load the first search result document and data usagerequired to load the second search result document. Otherimplementations may perform the steps in a different order, omit certainsteps, and/or perform different and/or additional steps than thoseillustrated in FIG. 3. For convenience, aspects of FIG. 3 will bedescribed with reference to a system of one or more computers thatperform the process. The system may include, for example, the rankingengine 110 of FIG. 1.

At step 300, a search query is received. In some implementations thesearch system 102 may receive the search query from a computing devicesuch as client device 106. Step 300 may share one or more aspects incommon with step 200 of FIG. 2.

At step 305, documents are identified based on the search query receivedat step 200. For example, in some implementations the ranking engine 110may use the index 125 to identify documents responsive to the query.Step 305 may share one or more aspects in common with step 205 of FIG. 2

At step 310, it is determined that at least a first document and asecond document of the documents identified at step 305 contain similarcontent. For example, in some implementations the document similaritymodule 114 may determine if two or more search result documents containsimilar content. Various techniques may be utilized to determine if twoor more documents contain similar content such as one or more techniquesdiscussed herein. For example, techniques may include comparison ofentities associated with the documents, comparison of contents of thedocuments, and so forth.

At step 315, a data measure is determined for the first documentidentified at step 210. For example, in some implementations the rankingengine 110 may use the index 125 and/or other database to determine adata measure for the first document. Step 320 may include one or moreaspects in common with step 210 of FIG. 2 and/or step 315 of FIG. 3.

At step 320, a data measure is determined for the second documentidentified at step 210. For example, in some implementations the rankingengine 110 may use the index 125 and/or other database to determine adata measure for the first document. Step 315 may include one or moreaspects in common with step 210 of FIG. 2.

At step 325, the first document and the second document are ranked basedat least in part on the first data measure and the second data measure.For example, the ranking engine 110 may rank the first document and thesecond document. In some implementations the data measures may beutilized to promote and/or demote previously determined rankings of thefirst document and the second document. In some implementations thefirst document and the second document may be ranked based on comparisonof the first data measure and the second data measure. For example, insome implementations, the document associated with whichever datameasure is indicative of less data usage may be assigned a moreprominent ranking. In some implementations the ranking of the firstdocument may be based on the first data measure and be independent ofthe second data measure. Similarly, in some implementations the rankingof the second document may be based on the second data measure and beindependent of the first data measure. In some implementations, the datameasures may be utilized as one of multiple ranking signals to determinea relevance score for the first document and the second document.Additional and/or alternative techniques may be utilized such as, forexample, those described with respect to FIGS. 6A and 6B.

In some implementations rankings for additional documents that are basedon their respective data measures may also be determined such as alldocuments identified at step 305, the top X documents identified at step305 based on other ranking signals, additional documents identified atstep 305 having similar content as one or more other documents, and soforth. In some implementations, step 315 may only occur if the searchquery is determined to be non-navigational and/or issued via a limiteddata plan. In some implementations, the weighting of the data measure indetermining a ranking for the first document and the second document instep 320 may be dependent on whether and/or the likelihood that thesearch query is determined to be non-navigational and/or issued via alimited data plan. Step 320 may include one or more aspects in commonwith step 215 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of associating adata measure with a document. Other implementations may perform thesteps in a different order, omit certain steps, and/or perform differentand/or additional steps than those illustrated in FIG. 4. Forconvenience, aspects of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to asystem of one or more computers that perform the process. The system mayinclude, for example, the document data usage module 122 of FIG. 1.

At step 400, a document is identified. For example, the indexing engine120 and/or the document data usage module 122 may identify the document.For example, a document may be identified from a listing of documentsand/or via following a hyperlink to the document during crawling of aplurality of documents and indexing of those documents. Also, forexample, the document may be identified from an index of previouslycrawled and indexed documents.

At step 405, the document is accessed. For example, the document datausage module 122 may access the document. In some implementationsaccessing the document may include retrieving one or more aspects ofcontent of the document such as meta information of the document and/oradditional content of the document. For example, accessing a webpage mayinclude retrieving HTML code and one or more aspects of content that ismapped in the HTML code such as images, sounds, additional code, etc.

At step 410, an amount of data usage required to load at least a portionof the document is determined. For example, the document data usagemodule 122 may determine the amount of data usage. In someimplementations the document data usage module 122 may determine theamount of data usage of the document based on meta information of thedocument.

In some implementations, the document data usage module 122 maydetermine the amount of data usage of a document by measuring actualdata usage during retrieval of the document. For example, the documentmay be a webpage that includes HTML code, and the amount of data usagemay be based on actual data usage in retrieving such HTML code and inretrieving one or more aspects of content that is mapped in such HTMLcode that would be retrieved by a browser or other application inretrieving the webpage and rendering the webpage for display to a user.Content that may be mapped in the HTML code may include, for example,images, sounds, additional code (e.g., ECMAScript implementations suchas JavaScript), and/or other content. In some implementations thecontent of a document that is retrieved and/or utilized by the datausage module 122 to determine an amount of data usage may include allcontent necessary to initially fully render the document. For example,for a webpage, the content may include the entirety of the source codeof the webpage such as HTML and/or XML source code and any images,video, music, and/or other media rendered upon initial retrieval thewebpage. In some implementations, the content of a document that isretrieved and/or utilized by the data usage module 122 to determine anamount of data usage may include content necessary to recreate only aportion of the document. In some implementations, the data usage module122 may determine the amount of data usage of a document based only on amost recently accessed version of the document. In otherimplementations, the amount of data usage of a document may be based onmultiple versions of the document.

At step 415, an identifier of the document identified at step 400 isassociated with a data measure that is indicative of the amount of datausage determined at step 410. For example, the document data usagemodule 122 may store a data measure in an entry in index 125 and/orother database that is associated with the document identified at step400. In some implementations the data measure may be the data usage. Forexample, for a webpage that has a data usage of 600 kB, the data measuremay be 600 kB. In other implementations other data measures may beutilized that provide an indication of the amount of data usage. Forexample, as discussed herein, in some implementations a data measure maybe a value between 0 and 1, with higher values corresponding to moredata usage. Additional and/or alternative data measures may be utilizedsuch as those discussed herein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example computer system 710. Computersystem 710 typically includes at least one processor 714 whichcommunicates with a number of peripheral devices via bus subsystem 712.These peripheral devices may include a storage subsystem 724, including,for example, a memory subsystem 725 and a file storage subsystem 726,user interface input devices 722, user interface output devices 720, anda network interface subsystem 716. The input and output devices allowuser interaction with computer system 710. Network interface subsystem716 provides an interface to outside networks and is coupled tocorresponding interface devices in other computer systems.

User interface input devices 722 may include a keyboard, pointingdevices such as a mouse, trackball, touchpad, or graphics tablet, ascanner, a touchscreen incorporated into the display, audio inputdevices such as voice recognition systems, microphones, and/or othertypes of input devices. In general, use of the term “input device” isintended to include all possible types of devices and ways to inputinformation into computer system 710 or onto a communication network.

User interface output devices 720 may include a display subsystem, aprinter, a fax machine, or non-visual displays such as audio outputdevices. The display subsystem may include a cathode ray tube (CRT), aflat-panel device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a projectiondevice, or some other mechanism for creating a visible image. Thedisplay subsystem may also provide non-visual display such as via audiooutput devices. In general, use of the term “output device” is intendedto include all possible types of devices and ways to output informationfrom computer system 710 to the user or to another machine or computersystem.

Storage subsystem 724 stores programming and data constructs thatprovide the functionality of some or all of the modules describedherein. For example, the storage subsystem 724 may include the logic torank one or more documents based on data measures of the documents.

These software modules are generally executed by processor 714 alone orin combination with other processors. Memory 725 used in the storagesubsystem can include a number of memories including a main randomaccess memory (RAM) 730 for storage of instructions and data duringprogram execution and a read only memory (ROM) 732 in which fixedinstructions are stored. A file storage subsystem 724 can providepersistent storage for program and data files, and may include a harddisk drive, a floppy disk drive along with associated removable media, aCD-ROM drive, an optical drive, or removable media cartridges. Themodules implementing the functionality of certain implementations may bestored by file storage subsystem 724 in the storage subsystem 724, or inother machines accessible by the processor(s) 714.

Bus subsystem 712 provides a mechanism for letting the variouscomponents and subsystems of computer system 710 communicate with eachother as intended. Although bus subsystem 712 is shown schematically asa single bus, alternative implementations of the bus subsystem may usemultiple busses.

Computer system 710 can be of varying types including a workstation,server, computing cluster, blade server, server farm, or any other dataprocessing system or computing device. Due to the ever-changing natureof computers and networks, the description of computer system 710depicted in FIG. 7 is intended only as a specific example for purposesof illustrating some implementations. Many other configurations ofcomputer system 710 are possible having more or fewer components thanthe computer system depicted in FIG. 7.

While several inventive implementations have been described andillustrated herein, a variety of other means and/or structures forperforming the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or moreof the advantages described herein may be utilized, and each of suchvariations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of theinventive implementations described herein. More generally, allparameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described hereinare meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions,materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specificapplication or applications for which the inventive teachings is/areused. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertainusing no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to thespecific inventive implementations described herein. It is, therefore,to be understood that the foregoing implementations are presented by wayof example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims andequivalents thereto, inventive implementations may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventiveimplementations of the present disclosure are directed to eachindividual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or methoddescribed herein. In addition, any combination of two or more suchfeatures, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if suchfeatures, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are notmutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of thepresent disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method, comprising:receiving a search query; determining that the search query is likelyissued via a limited data plan; identifying a plurality of documentsthat are responsive to the search query; determining a first datameasure for a first document of one or more of the documents; whereinthe first data measure of the first document is based on an amount ofdata usage in a prior retrieval of the first document; and ranking thefirst document relative to other of the documents based at least in parton the first data measure and based at least in part on determining thatthe search query is likely issued via the limited data plan.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining that a seconddocument is similar to the first document; determining a second datameasure for the second document, the second data measure of the seconddocument indicative of an amount of data usage required to load thesecond document; and ranking the second document relative to other ofthe documents based at least in part on the second data measure.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein ranking the first document relative to theother of the documents includes: ranking the first document relative tothe second document based on comparison of the first data measure to thesecond data measure.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein ranking the firstdocument relative to the second document based on comparison of thefirst data measure to the second data measure includes: determining thefirst data measure is indicative of less data usage than the second datameasure; and ranking the first document more prominently than the seconddocument when the first data measure is indicative of less data usagethan the second data measure.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising determining that the search query is non-navigational,wherein ranking the first document relative to other of the documentsbased at least in part on the first data measure occurs only when thesearch query is determined to be non-navigational.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein ranking the first document relative to the other of thedocuments includes: determining an initial ranking of the firstdocument, the initial ranking being independent of the first datameasure; and modifying the initial ranking based on the first datameasure.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the initial ranking of thefirst document is an initial relevance score of the first document. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein the first data measure is proportional tothe amount of data usage required to load the first document, andwherein modifying the initial ranking based on the first data measure isbased on multiplying the initial relevance score by the reciprocal ofthe first data measure.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining that the search query is non-navigational; and determining aweighting of the first data measure based on the search query beingdetermined to be non-navigational, the weighting of the first datameasure used in ranking the first document relative to other of thedocuments based at least in part on the first data measure.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a second search query;determining that the second search query is navigational; and preventingdetermination of rankings of documents responsive to the second searchquery that are based on data measures of the documents.
 11. The methodof claim 1, further comprising providing a search result for displaythat is based on the first document and the ranking of the firstdocument.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein ranking the first documentbased at least in part on the first data measure and based at least inpart on determining that the search query is likely issued via thelimited data plan comprises ranking the first document relative to otherof the documents based at least in part on the first data measure onlywhen the search query is determined to be likely issued via the limiteddata plan.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein ranking the first documentbased at least in part on the first data measure and based at least inpart on determining that the search query is likely issued via thelimited data comprises determining a likelihood that the search query isissued via the limited data plan, and weighting the first data measurein ranking the first document relative to other of the documents basedon the likelihood that the search query is issued via the limited dataplan.
 14. A system including memory and one or more processors operableto execute instructions stored in the memory, comprising instructionsto: receive a search query issued via a computing device; determine thatthe search query is likely issued via a limited data plan; identify aplurality of documents that are responsive to the search query;determine a first data measure for a first document of one or more ofthe documents; wherein the first data measure of the first document isbased on an amount of data usage in a prior retrieval of the firstdocument; and rank the first document relative to other of the documentsbased at least in part on the first data measure and based at least inpart on determining that the search query is likely issued via thelimited data plan.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the instructionsfurther includes instructions to: determine that a second document issimilar to the first document; determine a second data measure for thesecond document, the second data measure of the second documentindicative of an amount of data usage required to load the seconddocument; and rank the second document relative to other of thedocuments based at least in part on the second data measure.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the instructions to rank the first documentrelative to the other of the documents include instructions to: rank thefirst document relative to the second document based on comparison ofthe first data measure to the second data measure.
 17. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the instructions to rank the first document relativeto the second document based on comparison of the first data measure tothe second data measure include instructions to: determine the firstdata measure is indicative of less data usage than the second datameasure; and rank the first document more prominently than the seconddocument when the first data measure is indicative of less data usagethan the second data measure.
 18. The system of claim 14, wherein theinstructions further includes instructions to determine that the searchquery is non-navigational, wherein the instructions to rank the firstdocument relative to other of the documents based at least in part onthe first data measure are executed only when the search query isdetermined to be non-navigational.
 19. The system of claim 14, whereinthe instructions to rank the first document relative to the other of thedocuments include instructions to: determine an initial ranking of thefirst document, the initial ranking being independent of the first datameasure; and modify the initial ranking based on the first data measure.20. The system of claim 14, wherein the instructions further includesinstructions to: determine that the search query is non-navigational;and determine the weighting of the first data measure based on thesearch query being determined to be non-navigational, the weighting ofthe first data measure used to rank the first document relative to otherof the documents based at least in part on the first data measure. 21.The system of claim 14, wherein the instructions further includesinstructions to provide a search result to the computing device fordisplay that is based on the first document and the ranking of the firstdocument.
 22. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storingcomputer instructions executable by a processor to perform a methodcomprising: receiving a search query; determining that the search queryis likely issued via a limited data plan; identifying a plurality ofdocuments that are responsive to the search query; determining a firstdata measure for a first document of one or more of the documents;wherein the first data measure of the first document is based on anamount of data usage in a prior retrieval of the first document; andranking the first document relative to other of the documents based atleast in part on the first data measure and based at least in part ondetermining that the search query is likely issued via the limited dataplan.